The tender noodles and crispy fried fish slices mingled with the broth is sure to be an unforgettable taste for visitors to the mountainous town of Moc Chau, in Son La Province in the Northwest region of Viet Nam, around 200km from Ha Noi.
The major ingredients to make the dish are snakehead fish, tomatoes, noodles, garlic, spring onion, herbs, Indian taro, and some other spices.
To prepare the dish, the cook filters out the flesh of the snakeheads. The fish bones are then simmered in a large pot to make the broth, adding the natural inviting taste to the dish. The flesh is then sliced and fried to make it crispy. The broth is enhanced with various kinds of spices and tomatoes. When the broth starts to boil, the heat should be lowered to keep the broth from spilling over.
When served, the cook blanches the noodles and puts them into a large bowl with the fried fish slices on top. Sprinkled over the dish is the spring onion. Finally the boiling broth is poured into the bowl and the dish and the soup is best served hot with slices of red hot chili peppers.
Do not forget to enjoy a bowl of fish noodle soup in the foggy, cool weather of Moc Chau plateau and you’ll feel like you’re on top of the cuisine world. Wow! The price is good, too, costing around US$1.50 to US$2.00 a bowl.